Rescuers recover eight bodies from flooded underpass in South Korea

CHEONGJU, South Korea, July 16 (Reuters) – The bodies of eight people trapped in a tunnel submerged by heavy rain in central South Korea were recovered on Sunday, authorities and local media said, adding to the death toll. by days of torrential rains that have hit the country to 35.

Seo Jeong-il, chief of the Cheongju West Fire Station, said an estimated 15 vehicles, including a bus, were submerged in the city’s underpass shortly after downpours destroyed a river dam. nearby.

CCTV footage broadcast by local broadcaster MBC showed muddy water pouring into the tunnel as vehicles drove by with their wheels submerged.

“We are focusing on the search operation as there are likely to be more people there,” Seo told reporters. “We’re doing everything we can to finish it today.”

The death toll in the tunnel stands at nine, including a body recovered on Saturday, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported.

The Interior and Security Ministry said 10 people were missing across the country as of 11 am (0200 GMT) as heavy downpours caused landslides and flooding, with evacuation orders covering 7,866 people.

The ministry data did not include the flooded tunnel because it was not immediately clear how many people were trapped underwater.

The latest disaster occurred despite South Korea’s pledge to step up preparedness against torrential rains after Seoul was hit last year by flooding caused by the heaviest downpours in 115 yearsflooding basements in slums, including in the prosperous Gangnam district.

A survivor of the submerged tunnel said the government should have restricted access to the underpass when flooding was expected, Yonhap reported.

An official from North Chungcheong province said the embankment collapsed unexpectedly before the rainfall reached the level required to restrict access to the tunnel.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, now on an overseas trip, called a video response meeting, saying some regions had failed to take preventive measures against extreme weather.

Yoon ordered Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to mobilize all available resources to minimize casualties and urged the weather agency to quickly release forecasts as more heavy rains were expected in the coming days, his office said.

The Korea Meteorological Administration said the central and southern parts of the country could receive up to 300 millimeters (12 inches) of additional rain by Tuesday.

While South Korea often experiences heavy rain in summer, it has seen a sharp increase in torrential rain in recent years.

Korea Railroad Corp has halted all slow trains and some bullet trains since Saturday due to safety concerns over landslides, track flooding and falling rocks.

Reporting by Do Gyun Kim, Daewoung Kim and Hongji Kim in Cheongju and Soo-hyang Choi in Seoul; Edited by Diane Craft, Michael Perry, and Jamie Freed

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